Coolest pope ever? Francis talks previous work as nightclub bouncer

Pope Francis greets the Italian faithful during a visit to San Cirillo Alessandrino church in Rome, Italy.

Long before Pope Francis was drawing people back to church, he was keeping troublemakers out of a bar, he told parishioners at a Roman church Sunday.

During a visit to San Cirillo Alessandrino church, located in a working-class suburb of Rome, Francis recounted some of his former jobs, which included sweeping floors, working in a chemistry lab, teaching literature and psychology, and guarding the door as the bouncer at a Buenos Aires nightclub, the Catholic News Service reported. The pontiff’s bouncing gig was first reported back in March by Gazetta de Sud and The Telegraph, but this is the first time he has spoken about it since becoming pope — lighting up social media in the process.

His holiness rapped with several large groups over about four hours, before and after celebrating Mass. He told one gathering that his earlier work as a teacher showed him how to woo people back into the faithful fold.

An account of the visit was also published in the Dec. 2 issue of the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.